Woke up with the sad realisation that today was the last day of the tour. Thankfully Still had one last destination for our trip, the city of Bruges in Belgium. It only took us a few hours to get to the city after leaving Amsterdam, most of which I was fast asleep. We had just under two hours to explore the city and get some lunch. Spent most of our time in market square in the the centre of the city, took some photos of the Belfry of Bruges, the Provincial Court and the Post office. Stopped in at a little restaurant to grab one of Belgium’s specialities, Belgian fries, which were served with mayonnaise. Wandered a little of the centre of the city where found a little store front selling another of Belgium’s specialities, the Belgian waffle, which was covered in melted chocolate and pretty much amazing. Speaking of chocolate, Belgium’s other finest food, our tour guide took us to a little chocolate shop which among a delicious looking range of chocolate, sold chocolate that looked like male and female genitalia.

Back onto the bus and onwards to Calais to wait for our ferry back to England. Here at the port we said a sad goodbye to home away from home for the past few weeks, the Topdeck bus. Once on the ferry, I took another opportunity to nap and woke up when we arrived in Dover. Back onto another bus and then onwards to London. Arriving back at our hostel, we all said a teary goodbye to those who were staying elsewhere and then the rest of the group had our final dinner at a Japanese place across the street.

I’d booked into a private room for my last night so enjoyed an amazing sleep in a double bed with my own ensuite. Breakfast with a few of our tour group before heading out for last day to explore London. First stop was the Churchill Cabinet War Rooms, which were used during the bombings in World War 2. Then I headed over to the Tower of London. After a tour of the site by a Beefeater, I saw the Crown Jewels, explored some of the other buildings inside the grounds and managed to catch the Tower Guards in the Ceremony of the Word. Once I was finished at the Tower London, it was time for me to head back to the hostel, grab my bags and take the tube to the airport for the very long trip home.

The Food

I wanted to make Fries but usually avoid deep frying food where possible. So decided to cut up a potato into fries, bake them coated in a little oil and then serve them with mayonnaise, of course. They were slightly over cooked on the edges but nice and crunchy, and I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of oil and deep frying.

For my last England based savoury dish, I had some sausages and potatoes leftover from all my cooking adventures this past month so I whipped up a simple Bangers and Mash, served with peas and onion gravy. It was quick and easy to make and definitely tasty.

For my very final food item, there is nothing more English than a pudding. A particular favourite of mine is Bread and Butter Pudding with its rich eggy custard, plump sultanas and a slightly caramelised golden brown top. It was simple to prepare and a rather nice way to finish my food tour of Europe.

I started my trip with three days of sightseeing in London. I got into Heathrow at 8am and while tired I decided to deal with the jet-lag and keep going until exhaustion set in. First up was the British Museum, which was impressive to say the least and I could have spent all day in there and still not seen everything. The London Museum was next, this was definitely more my style of museum, big but not too big and it had a good range of exhibitions chronicling London’s history. Final stop was a quick look around the Tate Modern Art Gallery that being a Saturday afternoon was rather well packed with tourists and where I decided I’d had enough for the day. Went back and checked into my hostel, had a shower and was tucked up in bed by 7pm.

Woke up after a full night’s sleep still rather tired so I stopped in at a little cafe to have a nice full English Breakfast. My second day was my biggest of the time spent in London so the big breakfast definitely kept me going for the day. Before I’d left for my trip, I had taken the time to plan a very full itinerary of all things I wanted to do, where they were, which tube station they were closest to, how much they cost etc. This allowed me to rather efficiently see a lot of sights in the one day. The second day I started at Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, then headed to Natural History Museum and the Science Musuem. Stopped in a Buckingham Palace before hopping back onto the tube and getting off at Westminster station to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Walked across the river and down to the Imperial War Museum, which unfortunately was going through some major renovations in preparation for the 100 year anniversary of WW1, but still had a great WW2 exhibit about Life in London during the war and a detailed Holocaust exhibition. I then walked back towards the city and up to the London Eye for the quintessential London tourist experience. Took the tube back to Kings Cross where I grabbed some dinner and then went to bed pretty much exhausted.

My last day to explore London before my trip started was a pretty laid back one. I went (mostly window) shopping on Oxford St where I bought some gloves and a nice dress from Topshop. I headed to Leicester Square where I stopped at Byron Hamburgers for a pretty tasty hamburger and visited what was basically heaven for a M&M fan, M&M’s World. By this stage my legs and feet were feeling rather sore and tired, mostly from my adventures the day before, so do something relaxing and found a nearby movie theatre to sit and chill for a couple of hours.

The Food

Growing up in family with a British background, traditional British meals were just part of our regular menu so I didn’t actually eat that much British food while in London. Nevertheless to start off my food journey back home, I made a traditional Roast Dinner with Roast Vegetables and Yorkshire Puddings. The next day, I started my morning right with a re-creation of the full English Breakfast I’d eaten in London: Sausages, bacon, eggs, tomato, baked beans, toast, fried mushrooms and finished off with a cup of tea. It was how I remember; greasy, filling and delicious.

Needless to say after a meal like that, lunch was not necessary. However by mid afternoon, I was feeling a little hungry which was the perfect time to whip up another British delicacy: scones with jam and cream.